High-sensitivity apparatus for measuring linear thermal expansion: Preliminary results on the response of marbles to thermal cycles

The aim of this paper is to present a high-sensitivity apparatus for measuring the thermal expansion of rocks, minerals and solids in general. The measurement of the magnitude of the linear expansion of a sample at any temperature of its heating-cooling cycle can be obtained with resolution equal to or better than 10 nm. Preliminary results on marble samples having different petrographic features are reported.